World Apart
by insaneR
Summary: Leah was an average 17yearold until her Aunt began tutoring a certain blue eyed star for the role of Troy in the upcoming muscial movie. An embarassing introduction leads on, a world of fame separates them . Author of "Don't Hold Back "
1. Leah Langden

**Chapter one - Leah Langden**

* * *

"Have you seen the ad for that new movie on Disney Channel?"

"That guy from Summerland is in it"

"God he's hot"

"Yeah, but we won't get the movie over here for ages. We're always last to get things like that"

Leah Langden glanced sideways at the two girls chatting beside their lockers. They were completely oblivious to Leah, who observed them quietly from her place on the other side of the lab door.

She struggled through the group of students milling around the entrance to the lab, waiting for the teacher to unlock it and let them in. She positioned herself at the back of the group, so Amy wouldn't miss her when she arrived, and they could get seats together.

"It's all anyone's talking about" Amy grumbled as she arrived, "High School musical. What the hell is it anyway? Is it actually a musical?"

Leah shrugged. "I think so. My aunt Rose rang me up and told me a bit about it. She's tutoring some of the cast for the singing"

Amy rearranged her hair carefully.

"Speaking of singing, how're the lessons going?"

Leah smiled. "I'm not taking lessons Amy"

"Come on! You've got a great voice!"

"No"

Silence followed, and then there was a rush as the doors were opened and students filed in, taking folders out of bags and chatting. Amy and Leah followed suit, until she was pulled back by Mr Anderson.

"Hair up Leah, you know the lab rules"

"Oh - right" She quickly pulled her dark hair into a ponytail and sat next to Amy at the back.

* * *

As the final bell sounded, chairs scraped back as the students got up, and formed a scrum at the back of the class as girls struggled to escape the school for another day. Leah and Amy hung back, pulling their school blazers on and packing their bags.

Amy watched Leah puller her blazer straight. Amy was slightly taller than Leah, though not really the way she argued about it. Leah's dark hair was the opposite of Amy's, and the envy of the entire school. The way it just happened to look good no matter how she wore it.

"So back to my house then?" she asked, as they made their way towards the lockers.

Leah rummaged around in her pockets, struggling to find the tiny key that opened her locker. "I can't, Mum's got a thing on, and she needs me to help"

Amy smirked. "Another makeup demo?"

"Yep" Leah sighed. "Another one"

Her blonde friend laughed. Leah looked sideways at Amy. "Why do you always laugh?"

Amy turned to her friend. "It's just funny that your mum sells makeup for a job, and you don't really wear any - not that you need it" she grumbled, cursing her friend's perfect skin and wishing she had the same good fortune.

Leah smiled. "I guess it's a bit screwed up. Oh well. Mum enjoys her little parties"

"Yeah, and the rest of the school's going to enjoy finding out your aunt is tutoring the next orlando"

"He is pretty hot though" Leah admitted, slamming her locker shut and attaching the padlock. "Have you seen the ad?"

"Yes" Amy replied. "Personally I think he looks like a girl, but it doesn't seem like anyone else shares my point of view"

Leah doubled over with laughter as they left the crowded corridors and emerged out into the bright sunlight.

"Oh my god!" a voice said in their ears. Both girls felt arms draped over their shoulders. "Are you excited about that new movie or what?"

"Depends" Amy retorted, as their other friend Bronwyn came into view.

"On what?" she asked.

"If I want to be a loser"

"Come on Ame. That guy…Zac Efron! He's the next big thing. Super sexy and everything"

"Don't you start as well" Amy sighed, as they began walking down to the train station along with a mass of other students.

Bronwyn raised her eyebrows. "Something you're not telling me?" she questioned.

Leah looked around at the students around them, all talking about the same thing. "Aunt Rose is tutoring the cast for the singing stuff" she said quietly. "But shhhh. I don't want every girl accosting me"

Bronwyn's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Really? Oh my god! You could get introduced to Zac Efron!"

"Rose lives in America remember? Apparently they're in someplace called Utah, wherever that is"

"One of the states"

"Duh"

"Come on. You're the one that does geography. Make up a song to it, like you did for the periodic table in science"

"That was one catchy song...Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium…" Leah sang, as they headed down the grassy slope towards the trains.

"Shut up"

* * *

"Mum, I'm home!" Leah yelled into the empty hallway as she entered the house. Her mum bustled into view, wearing an apron and carrying multiple trays of makeup in her arms. Leah dumped the stack of junk mail from the letterbox on the top of everything, and smiled at her mother.

"Give me a break Leah. I'm flat out getting things ready. And take your uniform off and hang it up straight away! I didn't pay all that money for it to be crumpled on the floor!" Her voice was lost as Leah dragged her bag down the hallway and promptly undid the buttons on her skirt and dropped it to the ground, hurrying to her drawers and pulling some jeans on before the boy next door could look out his window and see her in her knickers.

Emerging at last into the kitchen, she noticed the phone on the bench was off the hook.

"Mum!" She yelled into the living room. "The phones -"

"Answer it!" came the reply. "I answered it and then had to run because the makeup was melting in the sun"

Shaking her head, Leah picked up the phone and headed to the fridge.

"Hello?" She asked, balancing the phone on her shoulder while she pushed the jars apart.

"Oh Hi" Leah held the phone to her ear as a rich American voice spoke back to her. "I'm calling for Rose Langden"

"Oh" Leah said, surprised. "You've got the wrong number. This is her niece Leah. She's in America for work"

The voice sounded slightly amused. "I know she's in America, I'm working with her. Where am I calling?"

"Wellington, New Zealand" Leah answered. "I hope you're not calling from some far away country. That'd be one hell of a phone bill"

Chuckles vibrated down the line. "Can you give me her cell number? I don't really want to call New Zealand every time I need to speak to her"

"Sure, Can I ask who's calling?" Leah grabbed the pen and paper by the phone. "Have to make sure you're no pedo-freak after my aunt you know. She's pretty sought after."

"I can assure you that's not why I want her" The voice told her, a hint of humour in the voice. "And it's Zac. Zac Efron"

Leah choked on a piece of apple.

"Um, right" she flustered. "Its 0212345865" You might have to put some numbers at the start or something you know, it's her New Zealand phone"

"Right. Thanks for that" Zac said.

"No problem" Leah replied, her heart dropping. As soon as she hung up, she dialled again.

* * *

"And then I practically accused him of being a pedo-freak and rounded the whole thing off by telling him to put the prefix at the start of the number because it was her New Zealand phone!" Leah despaired.

Amy laughed down the line. "Oh man, you idiot. I bet he's going to see your aunt and be like 'your niece...'"

"Don't remind me" Leah groaned from her bed. "She'll probably ring up tomorrow or something and accuse me of scaring her clients away"

"Ah get over it. At least you can say you've spoken to a famous person on the phone"

"Goodnight Amy" Leah said firmly, and then slumped down on her bed.

* * *

**Okay, so that's chapter one down. Review and tell me how it is**. **The next chapters will be longer, I've already decided. :)**


	2. America

**Chapter 2 - America**

* * *

Zac Efron sat bolt upright on his bed. Looking around, realised he wasn't at home, as he had thought. He was in a hotel room in Utah.

_That's right_ he remembered. _Guess I'm going to have to get used to this_

He swung himself out of bed, grabbing his cell phone, which he realised he had left on after his strange conversation with that girl, from New Zealand. A map lay on his bedside table, opened at the South Pacific page, showing a tiny country 1600km from Sydney.

Zac had never really given New Zealand a thought. Sure, he knew it existed, and he had heard a little about the Maori people, the natives of the land, but other than that, he realised he knew nothing about it. He found this pretty lame, seeing as it was his new tutor's home country. Zac decided it would look pretty bad if he waltzed into his music lesson and didn't have a clue about where Rose was from.

Grabbing jeans, and a shirt from his suitcase, he dressed quickly, then moved into the small kitchen unit, made toast, and plonked onto the table, holding the small atlas up to his eyes.

Facts about the small country flashed before his eyes.

_Although New Zealand has a population of around 4 million, most of the population inhabit the North Island, where Auckland houses around 1 million people alone_.

Zac moved his eyes down the page, from Auckland. His eyes hit that place. _Wellington. That's where Rose's niece said she was from, Rose probably lived there as well._

He continued to read on, not knowing why he was even bothering - was he going to impress his teacher with this stuff? The truth was, he realised, that he was kind of intrigued by the small country, which no one seemed to know much about.

_Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand, where the Parliament building resides, otherwise known as the Beehive. The parliament buildings resides in the heart of Wellington City._

Zac's eyebrows rose as he finished his toast and went to brush his teeth, still holding the book to his eyes. _The Beehive? What the hell kind of name is that?_

Deciding that he would ask Rose later, Zac dropped the atlas on the table and grabbed his song sheets, and went down to the lobby, where a car was waiting to take him to the Langden Singing School, or LSS.

* * *

Rose tapped her paper lightly, thinking that she had better call Mr Ortega and tell him his star was missing, when a voice crackled on her PA. "Rose, Zac is here to see you"

Feeling a weight lift off her shoulders, she buzzed back. "Thanks Joan, bring him in"

Rose stood up from the piano she'd been sitting at as Zac entered, picking up bits of sheet music that he'd dropped on the way in. "Sorry" he said, as he drew closer. "Kenny really wants me to improve."

Rose gave him a welcoming hug. "We'll see what we can do. Is that the sheet music for the songs you'll be singing?" she enquired.

Zac studied her for a moment, noting the strange accent and replied hastily, "Yeah, it looks like a lot doesn't it?"

"Then let's get started" Rose said, sitting down at the piano again, and drawing the sheets of paper closer so she could inspect the music. Her eyes travelled along the notes.

"These are really cute songs" she said out loud.

Zac smiled. "I know, and I have to sing them to a girl, in the movie"

Rose gave him a knowing look. "A huh. We'll there'll be red cheeks on that girl, with a guy like you singing them to her"

"You're really young, for an aunt" Zac blurted out, without thinking.

Rose looked at the young man before her. "How did you know I'm an aunt?" She smiled.

"I called your nieces house in New Zealand by mistake yesterday" He admitted. "I spoke to Leah. She's very...interesting"

Rose snorted with laughter. "Well, I'm 26. I'm the youngest and my sister Lorraine, Leah's mum, is the oldest. There's a large age gap"

"I see. Well, Leah informed me that she had to take my name because she had to check with you that I'm not a 'pedo-freak'.

Rose laughed out loud. "Well, she always was the one who wasn't afraid to ask the questions that no-one else wanted to ask"

Zac privately agreed. Leah had sounded like the type of person who didn't really care what people thought of her.

Rose looked up at the clock on the studio wall. "Well, let's go. Show me what you've got. What's a song you know you can sing?"

* * *

Much later on, the PA on Rose's desk buzzed once again. She left Zac standing at the piano.

"Yes?"

"Your niece on line one"

"Ta" Rose said. She switched to line one.

"Hey Leah"

"Rose, this is like a major toll call, but oh well, I had the most embarrassing thing happen last night, so mum left the phone off the hook and told me to answer it, so I did, and it was this guy asking for your phone number, and i was like 'ding ding' alarm bells, so i asked for his name to make sure he wasn't some weird stalker, and guess who it was?"

Rose lifted her eyebrows. "Zac Efron?"

Silence. Rose glanced backwards at Zac, who had a little smile on his face. He had clearly heard.

"How the hell did you know that?" Leah's voice demanded over the speaker. "Don't tell me psychics exist in this family now. I can't handle anymore weirdness in this family"

"No, actually" Rose began. "He's just here for his singing lesson. He told me about it"

"He told you-" came Leah's voice again. "Wait - is he listening?"

"Um, no?"

"ROSE!"

"I can't help it! He's here for singing. You want me to send the guy out of the room? Don't be stupid Leah"

"Well...well, the thing was, is that the ad for the High School Musical movie has just come out over here, and everyone's talking about Zac Efron, and how...ahem, hot he is, and I knew you were tutoring the cast, but when some guy with an American accent rings up I didn't connect the dots, and it ended up being really embarrassing and I told him I had to make sure he wasn't a pedo-freak, which, "Leah finished , "He probably isn't".

"No, he doesn't seem the type" said Rose. "Wait a minute Leah, I've just got to get some paperwork for Zac"

"Oh- right" The line fell silent.

Zac waited by the piano as Rose bustled out of the room. He was well aware that Leah was still on the line. A few minutes passed, until Leah's voice spoke again.

"Zac, are you there?"

Zac almost dropped the paper he had been holding. He headed hesitantly over to the desk, not sure if he should say anything. Finally he decided.

"Hey" simple enough.

"I'm really sorry I implied you were a pedo-freak. Your probably a really nice guy, and it was just so embarrassing-"

"It's okay" Zac interrupted. "Really. It was the highlight of my day" he recalled, remembering the hassles he had been through that day to get to Utah.

"Must've been a pretty crap day then"

"Yeah, it was pretty bad"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"So, why is your parliament called the Beehive?" Zac asked suddenly.

"What?"

Oh, I've just been reading up on New Zealand actually" Zac told her. "I thought it'd be pretty bad if I turned up here and didn't know a thing about my tutor's home country"

"Rose will love you. She loves talking about New Zealand to Americans"

I'll keep that in mind. So why is it called the Beehive?"

"Because it's shaped like a beehive. The building"

"Really?" the surprise in Zac's voice was evident. "Why would they shape it like a Beehive?"

"I don't know, ask the crazy people who built it" Leah answered. "I walk past it everyday. It's like around the corner from my house in Thorndon"

"I'll look it up tonight on the net"

"Okay, you do that"

"And what about-" Zac began, but Leah interrupted.

"Sorry Zac, my friends are here, and they're waiting for me to walk to school with them. College, I mean"

"You're at college?" Zac asked, impressed. "How old are you?"

"No-I mean, we call it college over here. High School, to you. I'm seventeen"

"Oh, right. Well why are you going to school at seven at night?" He asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Its 9am here. I've really got to go sorry"

Zac heard footsteps from the corridor. "Oh ok, well, I'll...ring you if I have anymore questions"

"What? - Alright. Seeya"

"Zac?" Rose's voice sounded. "I'll be a few minutes sorry. can you tell Leah-"

"She said she had to go, she had school or something" Zac made up wildly, hurrying back to his original spot at the piano.

* * *

"Come on, tell me everything" Bornwyn pressed Leah, as they made their way up the hill towards school.

"I just apologised for implying that he was a pedo-freak" Leah shrugged.

"But what did he say exactly?"

Leah sighed. "He said that it was okay, and that it was the highlight of his day because he'd had a really crap day"

Amy snorted. "You were the highlight of his day?"

Leah felt something stir inside her. "Yeah, I guess I was"

They passed parliament slowly. "Oh yeah, he asked why the Beehive was called the beehive. He sounded really interested"

"And what did you say?"

"I told him to ask the people that built it, god, enough questions Bron"

Bronwyn fell silent, and Leah added, "And he said he'd call me if he had anymore questions"

"He said he'd call?!"

"Only if he had questions" Leah reminded them, but she smiled.

* * *

**Okay, let me know how it's going**


	3. Curious Crush

**Chapter 3 – Curious Crush

* * *

**

"Zac, come on, you're not concentrating"

_"I didn't know that it could happen till it happened to me..._Zac sang, in time with the piano. He faltered at the high note.

Rose stopped playing. "I don't know what's on your mind today, but it's not helping. Tell me, why are you the only cast member here?"

Zac looked down. "Because I'm the one the needs the most improvement"

"Right. And how can you improve if you're not even focused? Lets try again"

And so it went on.

* * *

"Rose, do you use dollars and cents in New Zealand?" Zac asked, over his glass of water.

Rose looked up from the sheet music, surprised. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering"

Rose watched Zac pouring over some papers he'd brought with him.

"Let me see that" she said, holding her hand out for them.

Zac handed them over. He watched Rose's eyes zoom backwards and forwards over the page.

"You're researching New Zealand?" she asked incredulously. "Why?"

Zac replied "Well, I just realised that I didn't know much about it. I wanted to know more. And besides, being able to suck up to the teacher really helps"

Rose laughed. "I suppose. So what do you think? Going to visit one day?"

"I'd love to" Zac said, smoothing out his shirt. "But I doubt I'd ever get around to it"

"Well one day you might. Lot's of people go there"

"true"

* * *

Back at the hotel the next night, Zac lay on his bed, exhausted. Rose wasn't a forgiving teacher. Each note had to be perfect, nothing less. He remembered Rose's expression when she saw his papers.

_Leah was right. Rose loves New Zealand. I wonder why she left._

Looking sideways at the clock on his bedside table, he saw it was late, meaning it would probably be the morning in New Zealand. His cell phone blinked at him.

_Should I? _He found himself thinking, not about New Zealand, but about Leah.

He found he was intrigued by her, her bluntness. Were all New Zealanders like that? He found he wouldn't hesitate in flying halfway around the world just to find out. He picked up the phone.

* * *

Leah lay on her bed, thankful it was Saturday. She was sick of teachers piling more and more homework on her, and she was sick of girls everywhere, bitching and moaning.

"Mum!" She yelled. "Why'd you send me to an all girls school?"

"Because," Lorraine answered, opening her door, "Boys only have one thing on their minds"

"No they don't" Amy said, joining Lorraine at the door of Leah's room. "They also have food"

Lorraine shook her head and left, mystified. Amy sat next to Leah on the bed, pulling some pillows towards her.

"So, howsit?"

"Not bad" Leah replied. "Thank God it's Saturday"

"Tell me about it" said Amy. "I thought it would never come"

"Leah!" came Lorraine's voice again. "Phone!"

Amy smiled. "It's probably Bron. I told her I was coming over. She'll want to know if you've heard from who she calls 'Zac Efron, the Hottie McHot hot'

"I can't believe she came up with that" Leah laughed, getting up. She headed out into the hallway and grabbed the phone.

"No, I haven't heard from Zac Efron, Hottie McHot hot" she said straight away into the receiver.

"Well, I didn't know I was that special to have a name, but thanks" A mans voice said. Leah froze in horror.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I thought it was my friend!" Leah burst out, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She saw Amy poke her head out of the bedroom door. Leah mouthed "It's him!"

Amy burst out laughing and shut the door. Leah could still hear Amy's cackles after the door had been closed.

"What was that?" Zac asked, an amused tone in his voice.

"My friend Amy" Leah replied, her voice thick with embarrassment. "Look, my friend Bronwyn came up with that name and she's obsessed-"

"You don't need to explain" Zac said. "I thought it was funny as well"

"That makes one of us" Leah grumbled. "So, I assume you have a whole list of questions for me?"

"Not a huge list, but a few..."

* * *

"Okay, the answer to number one is, no, the Maori people are not cannibals. That story went out hmm, over 1oo years ago. Where have you been getting your information?" Leah asked.

"Here and there" Zac replied. "And what else?"

"Well, they have their own party in parliament, and Maori is our second national language, aside from English"

"Really, can you speak it?"

"I can count to ten, and say the basic stuff. We get taught it at school"

"Do it"

"No way"

"Come on"

"No"

"Okay, just go up to ten"

"Tahi, rua, toru, wha, rima, ono, whetu, waru, iwa, tekau"

"That's cool".

"They don't have the letter 'S' in their alphabet. So when the European settlers came over and 'discovered' New Zealand, the Maoris wondered why they made all these hissing noises"

Zac laughed. "Well I would too"

Leah spun around as Amy yelled out angrily, "You've been on there for an hour! Hurry up, we're going out!"

"Has it really been an hour?" Zac asked surprised. "Damn, I better go. Maybe I should get a plan or something, so it doesn't cost me so much to call you"

"Good idea" said Leah, wondering if Zac planned to turn this into a regular thing. The whole thing was crazy anyway.

"Bye" She hung up, her hand on the receiver for a minute.

"Finally" Amy groaned. Her voice turned sly. "Sooo, how's lover boy?"

"What?" Leah said, appalled. "He's not my lover boy"

"Whatever Trevor. What'd he say when he hung up?"

Leah kept her face determinedly neutral. "He said he would get a plan so it didn't cost so much to call"

Amy's mouth dropped. "Are you serious? Are you actually damn serious?"

"Yes"

Amy put on an important face and marched out the front door. "Look out, here comes Mrs Efron..."

* * *

As soon as Zac hung up the phone, he stopped. Had he actually just said he would get a phone plan so it didn't cost so much to call? He suddenly realised that this had become much more than calling her to find out about New Zealand.

He had a crush.

But it wasn't like any old crush. It was a curious crush. Zac found her interesting. He liked talking to her on the phone, and hearing her strange accent. He liked the fact that she was laid back, and he liked how she got embarrassed.

_oh man. This could be bad..._He thought, as he pulled his shirt over his head and threw his jeans accross the room.

And what would Rose say? As far as he knew, Rose didn't know anything about these phone calls. Zac cringed at the thought of Rose finding out. And what about Leah's parents? Siblings. He suddenly realised he knew nothing about her, other than she lived in Thorndon. He resolved to ask her next time they spoke. That wasn't very far away...

* * *

"So, what's on your mind today Zac?" Rose asked, surveying her pupil.

"Huh? What?" Zac asked randomly, jerking out of his daydream.

"I said, what is it today that's keeping you from our lessons? You only have a few days left with me. We need to knuckle down. You start filming in a week"

Zac huffed. "I know, I'm sorry. I just have other things on my mind"

"I suggest you try to get them off your mind" she suggested gently. "Otherwise there could be trouble"

Yes, there certainly could be trouble.

Zac pulled himself together. He looked down at the music. "Right. I'm ready. Let's do 'What I've Been Looking For'"

"Alright. Let's go"

After the song, Rose said "Have a seat", indicating her desk. "I'm just going to find the number for the piano tuner"

Zac sat in the chair behind Rose's desk. Photos littered the surface, from old students to ones in frames. He looked closer at a photo of a woman and a girl, standing in front of a house with their arms around each other. The girl looked his age, maybe a little younger. The pair stood in front of a house with a wooden door. The woman looked strikingly like Rose. His stomach jolted as he realised who the young woman might be. Was this Leah? She had dark brown hair, straight and long, cut with a fringe. In the photo her blue eyes sparkled with warmth and laughter, they both laughed at something. Both had olive skin, something he had noticed about Rose. This was Rose's family.

Zac sat back in the chair, his mind reeling. There was only one way to describe Leah, beautiful.

Rose came back in, shutting the studio door behind her. She saw him looking at the photos.

"Oh, that's my sister there, Lorraine. And that's Leah. This came in the post a couple of weeks back. And in that one there, that's my other sister Beth, and that's Leah and her friend Amy, they've been friends since they were little..."

As Zac actually began to look at the other photos, he began to notice the amount of photos there actually were on this desk. There was even one of a sheep. It looked like Rose missed New Zealand. And there was another one of Leah and Rose. Leah featured quite a lot. It struck Zac just how close Leah and Rose must be.

"Well, Let's get back to the singing"

Zac stood and stretched. He planned to call Leah tonight. Ask her about herself. He wanted to know more about her, little did he know, Leah felt the same way.

* * *

**Longer huh? I liked this chapter. A bit of humour.**


	4. Spending time with you

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Zac stood and stretched, showing his great body. Several eyes in the room glanced his way. Next to him sat Vanessa, they were getting ready to record their song 'Breaking Free'.

"So, are you ready for this?" Vanessa asked gently. "I heard Ashley and Lucas got their song down almost straight away"

Zac smiled. "Don't remind me. I'm nervous enough. We'll probably have to do it a hundred times or something. I always stuff up. Rose worked with me on this song the most"

"Is Rose the tutor you had?" Vanessa enquired.

"Yeah. She's really nice, and I had this crazy conversation with her niece from New Zealand on the phone"

"New Zealand? Is that next to Australia?" Vanessa asked. "I've heard of it, but never knew much about it"

Zac proceeded to tell her much of what Leah had told him, and ended with the story of the European settlers.

"Wow" she giggled. "Snakes huh?"

"Zac, Vanessa, lets do this" Kenny Ortega ushered them inside the recording studio. They set themselves up in front of the mic. "One, two, three, GO"

* * *

"That was nothing" Vanessa commented later on. "We were in there all of thirty minutes!"

"We are awesome" Zac said, giving her a high five. "Well, I might head off to the hotel, it's quite late" He said, glancing at his watch. _Early in New Zealand_

"Seeya then" Vanessa said, giving him a friendly hug, and flagging a taxi. Zac caught the next one back to his hotel. As soon as he got in, he grabbed his phone. Next to it was a pamphlet on plans and currency.

He dialled the now familiar number and sat on his bed, images of the brown haired girl swimming before his eyes.

"Hey, Leah? It's Zac"

"Like I can't tell. I don't know anyone else with an American accent" she laughed.

"Funny" Zac said sarcastically. "So I saw some pictures on Rose's desk a couple of days ago"

"Oh really?" Leah sounded surprised. "What were they of?"

"I saw you and your mother. Rose pointed you out"

"Oh no" she giggled. "Not the one of us laughing. My eyes go all scrunched up when I laugh"

"I think it's cute" Zac replied. "It makes you you"

"Well what do you do that I can laugh about?" She enquired. It sounded like she was eating.

"What are you eating?" Zac asked, amused.

"Just a kiwifruit. Breakfast, you know"

"Kiwifruit? Isn't a Kiwi your native bird?"

"Yeah it is, but we have kiwifruit as well. Don't ask me why. It's like asking why New Zealanders call themselves Kiwis"

Zac lay back on the bed. "Right. So don't ask that?"

"Not if you want a boring answer"

"okay"

"You've avoided my question. What do you do that I can laugh about?"

Zac thought. "Well, when I'm nervous or embarrassed I always touch the back of my head. Don't ask me why"

There was a silent laugh on the other line.

"What funny about that?" He asked, a little unsure.

"Well," Leah started. "You just told me a personal secret. How do you know I won't go and sell it to a magazine?"

Zac found that the answer was very easy and simple.

"I trust you" He said with ease.

"Really?" Leah found herself asking.

"Why?" Zac was concerned. "Don' you trust me? You just told me you hate your eyes scrunchy"

"Well, I do. So yes, I trust you not to tell some stupid tabloids"

"Deal"

"Great"

"Hey do you use msn over there?"

"Of course. Myspace, bebo, facebook, you know" She said.

"How about we use msn, and talk and stuff over the computer. Save on that phone bill" He added, laughing.

"You have a computer at the hotel?" She asked.

"I have a laptop. I brought it with me in case I got chatting to a New Zealander" he joked.

"Funny. Ok, add me on msn and we can do it that way. See you in a few"

* * *

Zac dragged the mouse over and clicked on the message box. He accepted the invite for a video call.

"Well all you movie stars aren't completely retarded", Leah's voice floated through the headphones Zac was wearing.

"Who said we were?"

"General public"

"Oh"

Zac watched as Leah bent down and opened a drawer. He could have watched this webcam all night.

"What are you doing?" He wondered aloud, as she pulled something out and shut the door again.

"Just grabbing my cell phone. I've got a text."

Zac watched her face, smile, and then turn.

"Oh my God-" Zac saw the door to her study crash open, and all he could hear was shrieking as someone dashed into the small room and collided with the chair Leah was sitting on, sending them both toppling to the ground with a crash. Zac could hardly hear himself laughing over the laughter that was coming from somewhere under the desk that Zac couldn't see.

Then from somewhere. "Oh my God! He's on the webcam? Where?!"

A red headed person came into view, hurriedly re-arranging her hair. Zac watched as Leah pulled herself up from the floor and brushed herself up, still laughing. She was wearing jeans and a plain tank top, and he face was alight with a glow.

"Hi I'm Bronwyn" said the red headed person breathlessly. She turned to Leah. "I was running in to tell you about Amy and Jack. I txtd you when I was at your front door"

"Nice one" Leah replied. "Sorry Zac, urgent girl business, you know how it is? Or do you?" She questioned, smiling. Zac felt his stomach flip.

"No, not really. I feel royally ditched" He pretended to be angry. "Go and deal with your girly stuff. I might not be able to call for a while, I've got filming, but I'll txt"

"Alright. See you later"

As Zac turned off his laptop, he sighed. He knew it would be a long time before he got to see or speak to Leah. He wouldn't have time in the morning, and by night he would be so exhausted from dance practice and filming he's drop straight into bed. This wasn't the way he wanted it to be.

* * *

**Thanks to you guys who have reviewed. I know I'm not getting many reviews, but they're not all that important. It's important that people like my story, and because it's not the typical Zanessa or Zashley, some people don't even want to know. I'm not bothered, I had great success with my first story 'Baby come Back' and then its sequel, which were both Zanessa, so I'm not that fussed. I love writing this story, I hope you continue to enjoy it!  
Next chapter : It's been a long time since Leahs heard anything from Zac, other than a few texts. Weeks, to be exact. But he has a surprise, the success of his film has made something possible.**


	5. A Girl's Dream

**Chapter 5  
Thanks you guys for reviewing, I'm glad you like it so much. I know it's a good story but people don't want to know because it's not Zanessa etc. I'm not fussed :P**

Leah glanced at her phone again. She sighed. It had been weeks since she'd last spoke to Zac. He sent the odd txt message every now and again, but mainly it consisted of "I'll call as soon as I have time".

Leah didn't know why she cared so much about it anyway. The whole thing was really, like a fairytale. Every girl dreamed of meeting a famous person and getting to know them, but how many actually got that chance?

Leah didn't really believe in fairytales. She'd been told them as a girl, sure. But she never really believed the story of Rapunzel, with hair so long that a guy could climb to the top of the tower with it, or Snow White, and how she happens to stumble on a house filled with seven dwarves.

"Leah, can you tell us the answer please?"

"Huh?" Leah was swept back to reality. Amy was scribbling on the paper next to her. She looked down. "x squared plus seven x plus two" She read aloud off the paper.

"Correct"

Leah shot a thankful glance at Amy, who had just saved her from detention. Mrs Colman wasn't a teacher who appreciated daydreaming in her class.

"So, who were you thinking about back there?" Amy asked later on as they entered the crowded corridor. "Tell me why I just had to save your ass from detention"

"One guess" Leah replied dully. She didn't feel like talking about it much.

Amy frowned. Through all of this, she saw Leah getting attached. Leah was normally a sensible person. She's dated a few guys, been broken hearted, but she'd never allowed her composure to slip. She'd never done anything like this before.

"Leah? Don't get attached okay?" Amy advised her. "Zac Efron's like a superstar right now. All anyone's talking about around here is High School bloody Musical. It's not even that great of a movie. I've seen it"

Leah hadn't seen it. She didn't want to watch it. She slammed her locker shut. All around her people talked about High School Musical, and how hot Troy was. It irritated her.

"Let's find Bron and get out of here." she said. She gasped as she felt her phone vibrate in her skirt pocket. It always gave her a fright. In spite of herself, she felt hope rise in her chest.

It was from Bronwyn. She was already at the train station. She relayed the message to Amy.

"Lets go" Amy said firmly, pushing Leah out the door. She glared at a girl who had just pulled out a poster of Troy that a family member in America had sent, and pulled Leah into the school grounds.

As they were walking, Leah's phone began to vibrate again. She didn't bother to notices, except when it vibrated again, meaning it was a phone call. She whipped out her phone, thinking her might be late, or that she was needed to pick up her niece from the school down the road. The number was an unfamiliar one. She stopped dead, and other students heading down to the station had to swerve to avoid her.

"Hello?"

"Finally. I thought I was never going to get those numbers at the start right"

"Zac?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it. Amy looked curiously at her, and shook her head, a clear sign of that she thought.

"The one and only. Listen I can't talk long, but I have some big news"

"Big news?" Leah repeated. "What, you're not busy anymore?"

"No, I'm not anymore. I'm actually at home. The movies been the hugest success ever, and we're doing some promotions and stuff around the place"

"So you will be busy"

"Will you let me finish?" Zac said impatiently, excitement evident in his voice. "The cast is promoting in Australia in three weeks"

"Well good for the Australians" Leah said. "Zac- I really have to-"

"Wait! And guess what? I convinced Kenny to extend the promo to New Zealand! I told him it's big over there and that it's a really interesting place and stuff"

"So- you're coming here?!" Leah could hardly believe it. "Better not be to Auckland, they always steal all the concerts because they're the biggest city, honestly-"

"Leah, why would I suggest Auckland, when you're in Wellington?"

Leah fell silent. She felt a little embarrassed. "I don't know- more publicity?"

"Don't be stupid. So in about four weeks-"

"We'll meet" Leah finished quietly.

"Yeah"

* * *

Zac dropped the phone onto the kitchen table. He was surprised to see his hands were shaking a little. The impact of Kenny agreeing to the plan was starting to take hold. He would meet Leah, they could spend time together.

But would she want to? Zac decided to call get on msn in a few hours. He was enjoying the bliss at being back at his own house for a while. He pushed the door open into his room and sat at his desk, picking up the phone from the bedside table.

"This is Vanessa"

"Hey, Ness" Zac said. "Guess what"

"You're eating sushi again? Jesus Zac-"

"No" Zac replied laughing. "We're going to New Zealand"

"He agreed?" Vanessa squealed, sending her dog Shadow barking from the room.

"He called me a while ago; I just rang Leah and told her-"

"Leah?" Vanessa questioned. "Rose's niece?"

"Yeah" Zac said, his hand automatically finding his hair. He probably shouldn't have said that.

Vanessa had already guessed. "Zac...I really don't recommend getting attached..."

"I'm not attached" Zac said automatically, even though he knew with his heart he _was_ very much attached.

"How many calls have you made to New Zealand?"

"A few"

"Just to talk to her?"

"I told her I wanted to know about New Zealand" Zac despaired. "Am I really that obvious?"

"Zac, don't toy with a girls emotions okay. It's never pretty at the end" Vanessa advised. "Is this why you wanted to go to Wellington? To see her?"

No answer.

"Oh Zac..."

"Don't 'oh Zac' me" he told her. "I know exactly how to handle this" and he hung up, feeling even more confused.

* * *

"So how was school?" Zac asked, as Leah held a poster up to the web cam.

"Oh you know, girls showing off their new things, etc" Leah replied, smiling. Zac could look at her smile all day. "And I got given this" She brandished the poster. "It's a Troy poster"

Zac leaned forwards towards the computer screen to get a closer look. "Oh man. Is it like, huge, over there?"

"You're going to be mobbed" Leah giggled. "Honestly, it's insane. And I have to keep my mouth firmly shut. Anyway, I'm going to put this in my room"

"Why?"

"Because I can get it signed" She laughed. "Can't miss out"

"You'll have plenty of time. I'll be there for almost three weeks"

"Three? God, how many autographs do you expect to sign?" Leah mocked.

Zac smiled, Leah's stomach jolted.

"We're going sight seeing as well. Everyone wants to know about New Zealand. Hey, something I was told to ask,"

"Who asked?"

"Vanessa. She knows about me calling you. She guessed"

"Guessed?" Leah had a questioning look on her face.

"Yeah..she...doesn't think it's a good idea, me calling you, that is" Zac admitted, sitting back in his chair.

"Amy knows as well, she's not exactly skipping with excitement like Bron"

Zac decided it was time for truth. "Vanessa reckons I'm getting too attached. To you"

There was silence for a moment, as Leah sat intently. "Yeah," She finally said, "Amy thinks that as well. But, what do they think is going to happen?"

"I don't know" Zac's arm went to his hair. "But anyway" he said, steering the conversation away from the touchy topic, "will you come to the autograph signing? Or will you be at school?"

"I don't know" Leah replied, switching the light on. "What day will it be?"

"I'll just check..." Zac said, leaning over and grabbing a sheet that had been faxed to him previously. "Saturday 15th September, 9.45 am, Wellington TSB arena"

"Well, we may not be American, but even New Zealanders don't go to school on Saturday Zac" she said sarcastically. "That's not far from me. About half an hour walk. Thorndon is right in the middle of town. It's where all the small, crumbly, old Victorian houses are. We live in one of those. I love it"

"So you'll be able to get there?"

"Well I'll have to postpone my sleep in, but yes, I'll be there"

* * *

**Getting closer!!!!**


	6. Australia

**Chapter 6 :D**

* * *

The weeks dragged on. Leah found herself counting the days until Zac was in Australia. It wasn't New Zealand, but it wasn't far away.

"Oh my God, can you believe the High School Musical cast are coming to New Zealand? I didn't think any of them even new about New Zealand! I asked a cousin once and she thought we were a state of Australia!" Leah heard, as she opened her locker. She smiled, knowing that they wouldn't even be coming if it wasn't for her.

"Really, that's so stupid. God, some people need to take a look at a world map for once" The girls grumbled, and walked to their next lesson, leaving Leah alone with her thoughts.

_I wonder how many people will show up to the signing?_ she wondered, as she wandered towards the English block. W_hat if no one shows up at all?_Horrified, she moved faster, hoping to get her mind off things by being yelled at by the teacher. The English teachers were by far the scariest teachers Leah had ever had before.

"God, what kept you?" Bronwyn hissed, as Leah took her seat. "Did you do that essay?" 

"I finished it on the train" Leah whispered back, thankful that she had forced herself to concentrate this morning. Mrs Foster looked like she was in an especially bad mood today.

* * *

Zac looked nervously around at the many cameras that were pointed in his direction. He wasn't very good at interviews yet. In fact, he wasn't very good at being surrounded with people, and being followed.

"So, Zac, where to next on the promo tour?" The man asked, brandishing a microphone at him.

"Well, we leave for Australia in two days, then we head to New Zealand, where we stay for three weeks, so it's going to be awesome" he replied, his hands in his pockets. He glanced nervously at his left side, where Ashley Tisdale spoke to the media with ease. Zac wished he could be as confident as her.

"Thanks Zac"

He headed towards the entrance doorway to the event, where he was joined by Vanessa. They went in together and found seats, where the rest of the cast joined then several minutes later. They sat in seats with a long table in front. Gradually, the hall began to fill up, people's ages ranging from small to old. Most carried posters to be signed, or merchandise. Flashes blinded Zac for the first few minutes, until he gradually got into the swing of things, and felt more comfortable.

By the end of it, his hand was severely cramping, and all he wanted to do was get home to the peace and quiet, and speak to Leah.

* * *

"And then after the first person asked, they all wanted a photo, and I had to keep leaning over the desk, it actually hurts quite bad" Zac said, twitching his web cam a little to the left.

"It sounds like you'll be doing it quite a lot though" Leah replied. "I mean, fans want a photo, they get one. Some are too shy to ask, others just elbow people out the way to get to you"

Zac laughed, suddenly remembering something. "I had the funniest thing happen a few days ago, I forgot to tell you" he said. "I was out with my Mum and Dylan, and this random girl our age came up to me. She was pretty drunk. Honestly, she just marched straight up to me and fully pashed me. Like, I had no control over it"

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it?" Leah laughed, as Zac cringed.

"It was terrible. Mum and Dylan just stared and she smelt so bad. I'll never be able to forget it"

"I don't think Dylan will ever be able to forget it" Leah said. She had spoken briefly to Dylan, who had been very interested in the girl from New Zealand.

"He'll never ever let it go. He's still mocking me about it now. Like the time when I went to reach into a hole to get a golf ball out and he screamed 'SNAKEEEEE' at the top of his lungs. I swear I almost passed out from fear. He's such a brat. It's not that funny" He added, slightly bemused as Leah was overcome by laughter.

"Sorry" Leah gasped. "It kind of is"

"Hmm. Well anyway, how was school? If it looks just like you say, I might have to come and have a look when I'm over"

"Sure" Leah snorted. "If you want to get mauled by bloodthirsty girls"

"I can't be that bad, can it?" Zac asked, slightly taken aback. He wouldn't have thought New Zealand could be as bad as the states.

"You wait"

* * *

"Oh my god, I can't believe we're on a plane to Australia" Zac could hear Ashley say, from just behind him. He sat back in his seat. _Oh first class, you are my new best friend_ he thought, as his chair reclined back. He pushed a button, and the small screen opened out from the side. He glanced at the list of movies and music, and then decided he would watch a move later. After all, it was a good 16,000 km from New York to Sydney.

"This plane is huge" Vanessa exclaimed, a few hours into the flight. Zac had to agree, he had been up and walking around, lost a few times, and finally made it back to his seat, without even finding the toilet. He was starting to get a bit desperate. He imagined the look on Leah's face when he told her this story.

"I have to find a toilet right now" Zac muttered to Vanessa, squeezing past her and into the aisle. He looked left and right, and set off, letting people pass, and of course, signing a few autographs as he went. After ten minutes, he asked one of the mothers, a bit embarrassed.

"You poor thing. I bet people have been asking for your signature all day. It's just a bit further that way" she pointed. Zac thanked her profusely, and headed in that direction, trying to avoid aisles with children, just so that he could get to the toilet.

"Bloody hell" he said under his breath, as he approached what seemed to be the lavatories. "What a mission"

* * *

The heat almost bowled Zac over as he stepped off the plane. He pulled his sweatshirt over his head and looked around, pulling his sunglasses out. He followed some security guards towards the private lounge. The rest of the cast trailed along behind him, all looking a little worse for wear. He pulled out his phone and sent a hastly txt to Leah, telling her he'd landed safely.

Zac couldn't believe it was still light. They'd left about lunchtime, spent an ungodly amount of time on that plane, landed in Sydney, and it was _still_ lunchtime. All he wanted to do was drop into bed. He got to do that shortly, and he dozed off straight away, the rest of the cast doing the same thing.

* * *

The next morning it was all go go go for the cast. Zac hardly got a moment to blink. It was radio, media, television all the time. He was getting sick of being asked the same questions, although he enjoyed listen to their accent, almost the same as Leah's. She had denied this many times. According to her, never say that to a New Zealander, as there was a big difference. He also learnt, during a brief moment when he got onto msn, about the Trans Tasman competition.

"The Tasman is the sea that divides Australia from New Zealand" she told him. "New Zealand isn't really into soccer, or football or whatever. We play rugby and netball. We have the best rugby team in the world. The All Blacks. Our netball team the Silver Ferns is a damn good team as well"

"I see. And so why is there this competition?"

"There just is. We're quite similar countries. Rugby and Netball would have to be both country's biggest sport. There's friendly competition, we're both very competitive, and it's normally an Australia vs. New Zealand final for anything"

Zac had understood. At that point, he had been in Australia for two weeks already, and many of the people he'd spoken to had relatives in New Zealand, or were New Zealanders themselves. Australia was a very popular holiday spot for New Zealanders it seemed.

With only a week to go, Zac become increasingly nervous. He could tell, as far as he was concerned, that he would be a nervous wreck on arrival to New Zealand

* * *

**:D here we go!**


End file.
